Vacuum-tube lighting.



D. MOF. MUORE.

Patented Sept. 3, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

ATOHNEYS D. MGF. MOORE.

VACUUM TUBE LIGHTING.

APPLIUATION FILED 111111.?, 1906.

1,037,290. Patented sept. 3,1912.

` 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A TTOR/VEY5 To'aZZ whom t may concern:

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

DANIEL MCEARLAN MOORE, OE NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, AssIGNOR 'ro GENERA ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OE NEW YORK.

VACUUM-TUBE LIGHTING.

noemer).

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented sept. 3,1912.

Application filed April 7, 1906. Serial No. 310,410.

Be it known that I, DANIEL MCFARLAN MOORE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident ofNewark, in the county of Essex and State-of New Jersey, with post-office address 52 Lawrence street, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vacuum-Tube Lighting, of which the following is a speci cation.

My invention relates to those systems oft electric lighting in which the source of light isa luminous gasor vapor contained in a glass tube and excited to luminosity by high potential energy` applied through themedium of suitable electrodes at opposite' ends respectively of the tube.

My present invention has reference more particularly to that modification ofV the system in which the tube containing the gas or vapor is distributed or carried ,over or through the spaces to be illumniated and=bas its ends located in a danger-proof Y box wherein the electrodes are connected to the source of high potential energy as described in my prior Patent #702,315. In that system the tube extended out in any desiredv direction and to any desired length, is brought back to the protective inclosure wherein the electrodes for both ends -of the tube are located. In many instances it 1s undesirable to dispose'a tube in such manner as to form al loop or where the two sides of the loop are close together to forni whatis in effect a doubleline of light.

The object of my present invention is to avoid the necessity of using the tube in the form of a loop or in such form as to give a double line of light where, under certain conditions, it may be desirable to have'but a single line.

A further object is to permit the' tube to be extended to a greater distance as a single line than isv possible in the system as illustrated in the prior patent.

In carrying out my presentinvention l locate one end of the tube in the proper danger-proof box and Within said box I conpole thereof. The tube itself extends'from said box and its opposite or distantend is located in another properly sealed box or inclosure, forming a danger-proof box or inclosure, and therein has its electrode or terminal connected to a suitable distribut-` wires an ing wire or conductor leading from an opposite pole of a source of energy. Between said boxes extends an insulating or protectiveconduit and the said distributing wire or conductorv for said opposite end of the tube runs through said conduit for comico? tion to and supplying the electric energy thereto. o y

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a general diagrammatic view of an apparatus embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 shows a slight modification lof the arrangementshown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a ifurther lmodification embodying my invenion.

. Referring to Fig'. 1 of the'drawings, l indicates a straight or approximately straight length of vacuum tube containing a'luminous gas or vapor. The energy trans- 'ferring electrodes for said tube are indicated at 2, 2 and are located as usual at the ends of the tube and preferably the said ends are enlar ed'or of greatericaliber or cross-section t an the main portion which constitutes the light-giving portion. i

3 indicates a suit-able lire-proof and insulatin protective box or inclosure which may be o the construction described in my prior patent. In said box or inclosure is located suitable means for supplying i the electric energy which renders the contents of the tube 1 luminous. The energy so supplied may be derived from av secondary 4.- of a transformer, indicated diagrammatically in the drawings. One terminal of said -seoondary 4 is directly connected in any suittrode 2.

The primary 5 of the transformer takes energy from suitable supply mains 6 or from other source. In this form of my invention the suppl wires 6 are low potential supply t the transformer is a potential-- raising transformer. The high potential supplyns, as will be seen, protected and the connection therefrom to the terminal of the tube .1s made in such protective inclosure.

3 indicates a second protective box or inclosure in which the end of the Vtube 1 having energy transferring electrode 2 is located. The protective case or inclosure 3 maybe similar to the inclosure 3 in its structure. It isvconnected with inclosure Sby a thoroughly insulated conduit 7 whose ends are coupled securely to the inclosures 3, 3',

' able manner within the inclosure to the elecand through said protective conduit a suitable insulated wire or conductor 8 runs. Said wire 8 is joined at one end directly to the electrode 2 within the casing 3 and its other end is joined to one end of the energy supplying secondary 4 in the protective inclosure or box 3. Said wire and the high potential connect-ions of the electrodes 2 or leading-in wires thereof being all thus securely protected, it is obvious that my system may be safely installed with energy of any desired potential and that the length of tube 1, extending straight away from the inclosure 3 whence the high potential is derived, may be anything desired within the limits of the potential used and the conductivity of the gas or vapor within the tube 1.

In the modiication of my invention illustrated in- Fig.K 2, the wires 6, 6, are themselves high potential wires led into the inclosure 3 through a 'suitable conduitl or conduits and are of suiliciently high potential to supply directlythe energy required for rendering the contents of the tube 1 luminous. No transformer being in this instance employed, the wire contained in the inclosurev7 and running back from the box 3 at the remote end of the tube 1, is joined in the inclosure 3 to one of the wires 6 instead of to a terminal of a transformer secondary.`

The elect-rode 2 is directly connected tothe other supply wire 6 instead of to a transformer secondary; otherwise the system is substantially the same as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows my invention as embodied in a system in which provision is made for automatically feeding gas to the tube and in which further, a number of tubes are combined in a common system, or are supplied from a common source of energy. In this figure the danger-proof boxes for the ends of the tube are. connected by conduit 10, in which is interposed a separate suitable protective inclosure 9 fory the transformer of the system, and in which the said transformer may be located instead of being located in the protective inclosure for one end of the tube, as shown in Fig. 1.

A. series of danger-proofboxes 11 for lthe ends of the tubes, as many in number as there are tubes installed, are provided, as shown, and in said boxes suitable connection is'made with the poles of the high-potential source lof energy located in this instance in the separate inclosure 9. In this instance, as shown, the conduit is sectional, for convenience, the sections being joined in the boxes. In this arran ement provision is made for any number o tubes and for locating the transformer in any desired position, but otherwise the system is the same as already described, t-he only exposed part thereof being the non-conducting portion of the vacuum tubes 1, since electrodes, or leadingin wires, and connections between the same and the poles of the energy supply are all located within the danger-proof boxes and the wire or connection from one or the other pole of the high-potential source is through the conduit running from one box to the other and to which said boxes are secured. At either end of each tube 1 as may be desired are also located the means for feeding air or gas into the tube automatically by means of an electromagnet which is con- .nected into thecircuit of the tube and acts on any increase of the vacuum to open a valve and admit air or gas so as to bring the vacuum back tonormal. This I have indicated diagrammaticallyv in the case of one box 11 wherein I show the electromagnet 12 in the circuit between the distributing wire in conduit 10 and the leading-in wire of the electrodes 2. Said electromagnet has a movable armature or core 13 to which is attached a plunger working in a body of mercury 14 contained in a chamber 15. Said chamber 15 contains a valve which controls admission of air to the tube. Said valve may be constructed as described in my prior application for patent #275,003, and as indicated com- 4 prises simply a piece 16 of porous material like carbonwhich is a plug for the end of the feed tube 17 joined to the tube l. The tip of the plug is slightly exposed above the body of mercury or may be sealed and unsealed by the changes of level of the body of mercury produced by the plunger or displacer.

Normally or when the vacuum .is at the required tension or degree the tip of the plug is either below the level of the mercury or is but slightly exposed, but on anincrease of the vacuum, the magnet acts with greater power and the plunger is raised thus allowing the level of the mercury to fall and expose the tip of the plug thus admitting more air. The construction of this valve and the form of the magnet, may obviously be varied without departing from my invention.`

vthe opposite end of said tube is located, a

conduit to which the said boxes are secured, means for supplying high potential energy to said tube connected as to one of its poles with the electrode of one end of the tube and an insulated wire or connection running from the opposite pole through said conduit to thev other box and therein connected to the electrode for the opposite end of the tube.

2.11m a system of vacuum tube lighting, the combination substantially as described, of a protective conduit having two branches separated from oneanother and carrying respectively high-potential energy `supplying conductors, protective boxes or inclosures inserted at intervals in said branches and vacuum tubes extending from a box inserted in one branch to a box inserted in the other and having their energy transferring electrodes connectedv in opposite boxes to the supply wires running respectively through the two insulating branches, as and for the purpose described.

8. In a system of vacuum tube lighting, the combination substantially as described, of an insulating or protective box or inclosure, a transformer therein, a protective conduit extending in. opposite directions tervals in said conduit, vacuum tubes havingy their ends located in boxes belonging respectively to the portions of the conduit oo ntaining the conductors for said opposlte poles and connections within said boxes be- -tween .the energy transferring electrodes of the tube and said conductors.

Signed at New York inthe county of New York and State of New York this 30th day of March A. D. 1906.

h 'DANIEL |MQFARIJAN MOORE.

Witnesses:

C. F. TISCHNER, Jr., LILLIAN BLOND. 

